I feel the same way about the comment sections on news sites. What, exactly, does a comment section add to a news story? The ability for random uninformed assholes to put their opinion on the same level as an actually researched story, and then for other assholes to have their shitty opinions reinforced by the first assholes.

Yes, yes, commenting on this article is ironic, let's get that joke out of the way early.

The comments on the Escapist are relegated to a separate section of dedicated discussion (a forum if you will) and as such do not intrude as much on the media. This was true until those fucking Facebook comments were enabled. It undermines the accounts and community system. They were a horrible idea and they need to go.

As for social media content/crossover in games. It's simply embarrassing. Hang your head in shame industry.

Do you think they exist for the benefit of the developer? Do you think Nintendo keep a great big leather-bound book of every comment that the users make, so that they can read every single one and put the feedback into their next game? I bloody well hope not. They'd be fools to waste the effort; they'd have to pick through an awful lot of hilarious fart pictures to find the attempts at criticism.

I kinda disagree with this part. I work for a small indie gaming studio. We've hired someone to monitor our forums and parse the "feedback". Sure there's some crap to wade through but that's why we hired someone else who's neutral (otherwise we'd all commit ritual suicide). In the end the feedback is very valuable for understanding the niche market we are targeting.

Now, I said only kinda disagree. I'm sure Nintendo gets such a massive tidal wave of shit that there's just no parsing it.

deathjavu:I feel the same way about the comment sections on news sites. What, exactly, does a comment section add to a news story? The ability for random uninformed assholes to put their opinion on the same level as an actually researched story, and then for other assholes to have their shitty opinions reinforced by the first assholes.

Yes, yes, commenting on this article is ironic, let's get that joke out of the way early.

Please. There are more opinionated, biased stories written as news articles by the day. They are well researched confirmation biases. No better than the comments section where more often than not your likely to find a commenter that points out all the holes in said article but also provide counterpoints and less biased statements.

deathjavu:I feel the same way about the comment sections on news sites. What, exactly, does a comment section add to a news story? The ability for random uninformed assholes to put their opinion on the same level as an actually researched story, and then for other assholes to have their shitty opinions reinforced by the first assholes.

Yes, yes, commenting on this article is ironic, let's get that joke out of the way early.

Please. There are more opinionated, biased stories written as news articles by the day. They are well researched confirmation biases. No better than the comments section where more often than not your likely to find a commenter that points out all the holes in said article but also provide counterpoints and less biased statements.

Sectan:Isn't Yahtzee basically just part of the comment section that is Vidogamez Jurnalizm?

These combined are basically my opinion. Journalism, and no less Games Journalism is just a paid comments section. And I'm in agreement with Yahtzee, I think many comments aren't worth the digital ink they're printed with. That's why I watch only about 40% of the videos he releases these days.

Scrumpmonkey:This was true until those fucking Facebook comments were enabled. It undermines the accounts and community system. They were a horrible idea and they need to go.

This place is infected with facebook? really? I didn't think Escapist could stoop that low, I really didn't, and now I feel betrayed! Then again... I suppose it doesn't actually affect me since I have a plugin in my browser which forcibly removes all social media plugins from all websites, which is why I didn't know this place had succumbed.

Yahtzee... Here's the solution to your problem. Step 1 find a large stick. Step 2 smash your computer with said stick. Step 3 Set the stick on fire and set it down on your couch. Step 4 Find the furthest away cave and move in. Your comment problem is now solved... You're welcome.

Scrumpmonkey:This was true until those fucking Facebook comments were enabled. It undermines the accounts and community system. They were a horrible idea and they need to go.

This place is infected with facebook? really? I didn't think Escapist could stoop that low, I really didn't, and now I feel betrayed! Then again... I suppose it doesn't actually affect me since I have a plugin in my browser which forcibly removes all social media plugins from all websites, which is why I didn't know this place had succumbed.

Facebook comments on videos and articles have been around here for a while. Like, possibly since I joined or even earlier.

themilo504:When it comes to videos I think that comments are great for feedback and I find It funny that a reviewer can't see that.

The thing is, take a gander at the comments sections of most of the reviews. Any review, really, but particularly good ones are "controversial" ones like Tito's Dragon Age II/Grand Theft Auto V or Yahtzee's Super Smash Bros. Brawl, or Jim Sterling's Vanquish/The Witcher 2.

Normal reviews become filled with comments to the effect of "I agree/disagree" and occasionally get expounded upon with "And here's why". On a good day, it pretty much ends with that, maybe a bit of light-hearted joking between members.

"Controversial" reviews get blasted down with so much useless bile of "HOW COULD YOU NOT LIKE [Game]!?!?!?! RABBLERABBLERABBLE!" (or of course, "HOW COULD YOU LIKE [Game]?!!?!? RABBLERABBLERABBLE!!!") that it becomes pointless to even read them, because all you're going to see is that and the inevitable arguing between those people and the people who think the reviewer is correct and/or think they should all just calm down.

They're just echo chambers for users, and very rarely contain anything constructive for the person who created the content in question. A notable exception to this is our very own Jim Sterling, if we all recall the beginning of The Jimquisition on this website. But even then, he had to sift through hundreds of angry comments saying "Who is this arrogant fat fuck?!!?!" (many even being worded that harshly) to find the actual constructive responses because that's the reaction people immediately jumped to upon seeing something they didn't like.

I tend to find it depends on the site. There are some websites where I've had great and informative discussions in the comments section, and others where any attempt to imitate that success is dead before it leaves the womb.

Well, I suppose that's the reason we never see Yahtzee replying to comments on his videos. I enjoy reading comments, there's a lot of stupidity yes but there's diamonds in there if you look hard enough and you can always find someone to correct if you're feeling particularly smug that day.

Wait, the ratings system in ACIV was real? I was convinced it was a joke. Like, since you're playing a code tester for AE, of course they'd ask focus questions of you. But you're telling me those ratings are actually going back to Ubisoft?

Like if you're reading this comment in 2013! "Because on a comedy video, the very first, highest upvoted comment on every single one, inevitably, is someone quoting the funniest bit." Haha, classic, and still a better love story than Twilight! Can I get a like for no reason? Screw Justin Bieber!

So this is what developers feel when they are criticized by Yahtzee...

OT: I'm afraid Mr Croshaw is painting with quite a broad stroke. Comment sections can be incredibly helpful. If a game is bad, I usually find people providing links to fixes/mods or alternative games of the same genre. As for news posts, you usually have people providing updates/conflicting news, which can be helpful for the article writers themselves.

"The practice, that is, of allowing anyone to speak their mind about a piece of content and leave it for all to see." ....Glass houses.

Is it slightly odd I am commenting on an article about how shitty comments are?

Anyway, comments are for people to discuss the content, "this is what I think of ..." and for people to have a conversation, though on things like youtube, where you have a set character limit, having a discussion is hard.

For content creators it must be a nightmare to drudge through endless crap, such as "this" or a couple of hundred "first" comments.

This basically says fuck comments because mine is clearly superior. Have you ever thought that there are other journalists out there who think your own articles are nothing but paid trash content on a website? And what is stopping the unwashed commenter pleebs from simply posting their own stuff on their own blogs.

If find it funny that you have people hating Anita for say- blocking comments on Youtube on her videos, yet here we are all more or less agreeing with you that we should admonish comments because you don't deem them worthy. This is especially true in the journalism business where feedback is pretty damn important.

Your entire article basically says- My words are more important than yours because I get paid to do it. Yours means nothing therefore I don't want to see it.

You then proceed to complain even more about the stupid comments feature in SM3DW. If it really bothered you that much, just turn it off.

Likewise, if you really hated the Gampad for Pikmin, then use the blasted Wii mote instead of complaining about how annoying it is when you had the option to use an alternative the entire time you played the game for review.

SM3DW's comment system is pretty much where comment systems cross the line. Nintendo has a track record of not understanding how to use the Internet or how to use it well, and it's just another misstep in this long line of mistakes. Remember the modem for the Gamecube? You were more likely to find the one that was designed for 56k dial-up, and those days people were migrating to broadband and Ethernet cable.

The way I see it: don't read comments unless you're prepared for shit. On certain videos with decent communities comments can be genuinely entertaining, but 90% of it is garbage.

But I don't think they should be removed outright, just not shoved in your face. It should be made clear to everyone how terrible they are, and that most people would want to avoid them, but not fully removed if just to appease the cries of censorship that will inevitably occur.

Enlong:Wait, the ratings system in ACIV was real? I was convinced it was a joke. Like, since you're playing a code tester for AE, of course they'd ask focus questions of you. But you're telling me those ratings are actually going back to Ubisoft?

With everything being online, I'm pretty sure Ubisoft at least has the ability to collect the data if it wanted to. And yeah, I took the rating system to just be meta-commentary about the state of the games industry, just like the letters and database arguments regarding historical accuracy versus entertainment. If you don't buy that the developers are that sophisticated, than it's just another irritant.

And for those crying hypocrisy, the difference is just as you put it. He gets paid. Ergo his words have monetary value. I'm not being paid to type this comment. So by comparison what I am writing is worthless. It's not hard.

And do think that the Escapist in particular can use a good fumigating.

Scrumpmonkey:The comments on the Escapist are relegated to a separate section of dedicated discussion (a forum if you will) and as such do not intrude as much on the media. This was true until those fucking Facebook comments were enabled. It undermines the accounts and community system. They were a horrible idea and they need to go.

As for social media content/crossover in games. It's simply embarrassing. Hang your head in shame industry.

I have to agree completely with you here. Facebook has been one of the most detrimental influences for websites, video games, and the whole world really. Not everything that someone has to say is important and Facebook has allowed people to think that everything they have to say is more important than anything else. And now the rest of the world is encouraging them by letting them use it on various websites; so now video games think that's a great idea because "that's what most people want."

The bottom line is that unless I'm playing an MMORPG (and sometimes even when I am) I'd rather not think about other people. I play games for myself and I'm guilty of using them to escape reality. Unfortunately, it won't be long before we see video games embrace this bullshit completely and every game will have a little window that streams your friends' accomplishments to shove in your face. Who gives a shit if a friend just unlocked an achievement in Madden 20XX? I'm trying to play Bioshock.

What worries me more than comments, is that they're being disabled on major youtube channels. While I understand that the biggest reason is scamming and bad links, some channels like Nerdcubed prefer not to have them at all and are just sick of of them.

I will not pretend to tell these creators that they should have them enabled or that it will even do any good, but it's a short term solution at best. Without feedback, they're closing off a vital source that will inevitably change the content, for better or worse, the latter which the creator should be able to forsee and avoid.

Please. There are more opinionated, biased stories written as news articles by the day. They are well researched confirmation biases. No better than the comments section where more often than not your likely to find a commenter that points out all the holes in said article but also provide counterpoints and less biased statements.

Agreed. I get more out of articles when they're tempered by comments and different perspectives, even if you have to sift through the pointless and downright shit posts that some make. The bias is so strong that you can practically see people conform in a very scary way to whatever Moviebob or Jim Sterling says, without thinking.

I enjoyed your second comment as well, by the way. Just keep in mind that it is just a rant.

Another EP where Yahtzee shows us that side of himself that proves that the hyperbole he uses to put down his own audience is, in reality, exactly how he feels. No, people, he's not just saying those things because he's trying to be entertaining, he really DOES think 99% of us are shit. He thinks it of me and he thinks it of you. Yes, YOU, whoever-is-reading-this-at-the-time, don't think your on his special not-shit-list, because you are, along with the rest of us. It's times like this I really feel misgivings about watching his stuff. He's entertaining and often informative, but by God, he can also be bitter and hateful.

Scrumpmonkey:This was true until those fucking Facebook comments were enabled. It undermines the accounts and community system. They were a horrible idea and they need to go.

This place is infected with facebook? really? I didn't think Escapist could stoop that low, I really didn't, and now I feel betrayed! Then again... I suppose it doesn't actually affect me since I have a plugin in my browser which forcibly removes all social media plugins from all websites, which is why I didn't know this place had succumbed.

The reason many sites feel the need to have these features is NOT for users. Having facebook, twitter, google plus, youtube etc etc plugins and buttons apparently increases your sites visibility on the web. It's a promotional tool websites feel forced to accept because if you don't kneel before the gatekeepers of the internet that there is a fear your site will magically turn into a wasteland unless someone can +1 your post.

You can't really admit to using and encourage using script extensions that block certain content on this site. So be careful :P